Flying With Ravens
by yellow 14
Summary: Cho Chang has a very unusual training regime in place for her match against Gryffindor and in particular against Harry's virtually unbeatable Firebolt. Written for the House Animals Challenge by gooseberrie. Also written for Untold Stories Challenge by 123Quarters.


Disclaimer: Don't own and never will.

AN: Written for the House Animals Challenge by gooseberrie. Also written for Untold Stories Challenge by 123Quarters.

Cho Chang loved flying amongst the ravens that roosted around Hogwarts. She loved the way that they cawed and flapped and flew around her as she carelessly flew through their rafters. And she loved the way they looked at her as they flew around her.

"Having fun there, Cho?" a familiar boy's voice asked and she turned to face her oldest friend Cedric Diggory with a smile on her face.

"Hi Cedric!" she said cheerfully as another crow flew past her cawing away loudly. "Come on up it's a great place to fly!"

"Thanks, but I prefer to fly in open spaces," he countered with a wry smile. "Hardly any space in there to really let rip, to push yourself as fast as you can go. Aren't you eagles supposed to prefer open spaces?"

"I'm more of a raven," Cho said with a giggle as she landed beside him. "If you think about it, they're better suited to Ravenclaw house than the eagle."

"Oh?"

"Yes, just think about it," Cho continued as her eyes lit up with excitement. "They're very clever birds."

"They are," he said, nodding his head, grateful that his mother was a real bird enthusiast who had taught him a bit about birds.

"And because they're so intelligent, they can even use tools," Cho continued excitedly. "And they're pretty good flyers as well. They can turn pretty well in tight spaces, just like a good Seeker!"

"Speed is pretty important in a Seeker as well," Cedric commented dryly and a scowl crossed Cho's pretty features.

"Speed is very important," she replied grimly. "So important in fact, that SOMEONE has given Harry Potter a FIREBOLT!"

"So it's true then? Someone ACTUALLY gave Potter a Firebolt?" Cedric asked curiously and Cho nodded.

"There's no way I'm going to outrun a Firebolt. My Cleansweep is simply not capable of matching his speed at all," she said with a touch of annoyance. "If he was still on his Nimbus then I might have had a chance, but a FIREBOLT!? Not a chance."

"I don't think there's a broom in the school that can match a Firebolt," Cedric said thoughtfully and Cho glared at him.

"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious," she said in an annoyed tone. "That's why I'm here."

"I'm not sure twisting through the rafters is going to make you faster Cho," Cedric pointed out. "With all the twists and turns you have to make, it's virtually impossible for you to get any real speed."

"I'm not looking to go fast Cedric," she replied testily and Cedric mentally wondered whether it was Quidditch or her time of month that was making her so difficult. "The only way I'd be able to catch the Snitch before Harry is if the damn thing flew up my sleeve. He's a brilliant seeker on his own and when combined with his Firebolt, he's virtually unbeatable. Especially for me."

"Then what ARE you up to? If you can't seek, what ARE you supposed to do?" he asked and Cho smiled at him, the kind of smile she normally wore when she solved a particularly difficult problem.

"Well that's the problem isn't it? And I think I know EXACTLY how to solve it," she replied and Cedric raised an eyebrow.

"I managed to beat him on sheer dumb luck," he pointed out. "I doubt it's going to work a second time."

"You're also a damn good flyer," she countered, "and no, I'm not using luck. It's more a case having to analyse the entire Gryffindor team."

"Who are also very good at the game," he pointed out and Cho scowled once more.

"I know that!" she pouted and Cedric smiled in amusement. She gave him a mock-glare and continued.

"Gryffindor might be a good team but so is Ravenclaw. More importantly, they've grown used to having Harry get the snitch first."

"That is generally how the game works Cho," he pointed out and Cho rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but that's their weakness. They play and wait for Harry to get the snitch, just like any other team," she pressed on. "The trouble is, with his Firebolt, it's practically a given that he's going to catch the snitch first." She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "So I've decided to flip the usual situation of a seeker around."

"So what do you have in mind?" he asked and Cho smiled.

"Well instead of trying to catch the snitch first, what I'm going to do is to stop him gaining the opportunity to gain any speed. Instead of chasing the snitch, I'm going to chase him instead, blocking him every time he tries to accelerate, while the rest of the Ravenclaw team score enough points to compensate for not getting the Golden Snitch. The rest of the team know what to expect and we've been training hard and planning strategies to thrash Gryffindor," she said, before giving him a smile. "Of course, I could get really lucky and have it fly up my sleeve, but I doubt that."

"Well it could work," Cedric admitted and Cho nodded.

"Absolutely," she said and Cedric ploughed on.

"BUT Gryffindor are not exactly easy to beat and Wood has put together a very good team," he finished and Cho shook her head.

"If you have a better plan, feel free to let me know," she said as she took off for the rafters once more. "In the meantime, I've got some manoeuvrability training to do!"

Cedric watched as Cho started flying through the rafters once more and smiled as his stomach gave a familiar lurch.

"One of these days," he murmured to himself, "I'm going to have to actually work up the courage to ask her out."

And as Cho narrowly avoided crashing into a particularly low beam he turned and walked away to his own practise.


End file.
